7 counties ban burning; little relief in forecast

A map showing the location of burn bans in Arkansas.
A map showing the location of burn bans in Arkansas.

Seven Arkansas counties have issued burn bans because of the increased danger for wildfires, and Arkansas Forestry Commission officials expect that more counties will be in the same situation if the state doesn't receive rain soon.

Chicot, Faulkner, Garland, Hempstead, Howard, Jefferson and Saline counties have all banned residents from burning trash, brush and debris. The Forestry Commission also said 28 counties in central and southwest Arkansas were considered to be in moderate danger for wildfires because of dry conditions.

"We had a lot of rain and flooding in May," Howard County Judge Kevin Smith said. "But it's going the other way, plenty fast. We've not had many fires yet, but conditions are right, and we issued the ban to head them off."

Smith said he conferred with his Office of Emergency Management coordinator and with the fire chiefs of his county before issuing the ban.

"It's in the upper 90s," Smith said. "It dries out pretty fast. Instead of waiting, I wanted to set this up before it gets bad."

The fire season has been less active this year than in the past few years, said Adriane Barnes, a Forestry Commission spokesman. The state's primary fire season is in February and March, but August is typically the "second season" for wildfires because of the drier conditions, winds and lower humidity.

On Tuesday, four wildfires burned 9 acres in the state, Barnes said.

"The humidity has been up above 40 percent, and that helps with the fire danger," she said. "But if we don't get good rainfall by the weekend, we will be in serious shape."

Forecasters call for a chance of rain tonight and Thursday, but most of it is expected to fall in northern Arkansas, meteorologist Chris Buonanno of the National Weather Service in North Little Rock said.

A series of upper-level lows will head to the state line from Missouri and could bring heavy rains to the northern tier of the state.

Buonanno said some storms could produce localized winds that could stir fires out of control.

However, in the areas where rainfall is needed the most, it could be more scarce, he said.

After the system moves out of the state, temperatures will climb back into the upper 90s this weekend, he added.

Two years ago in August, 36 counties had issued burn bans, and in 2012, when 70 percent of the state was deemed to be in "extreme drought" by the National Drought Mitigation Center, wildfires were much worse, Barnes said.

"August is right on target for fires," she said. "We've not had a very active fire season since 2012, but that means a lot of vegetation has grown over the years. There's a lot of fuel collected again in forests."

The commission urges people to burn their trash and debris early in the mornings or later in the evenings when winds are calmer and the humidity is generally higher to curtail the potential for fires getting out of control.

"As the humidity drops below 40 percent, the danger quickly spreads," Barnes said.

The commission has single-engine airplane tankers in Hot Springs to help battle wildfires if needed, and more could be posted at airports in Batesville and Harrison. They will remain there until the end of September and could stay longer if fires continue into October, Barnes said.

State Desk on 08/05/2015

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